Q. What is the difference between Mrs Sam's Phonics n Spell Magic™ programme and other Phonics courses?

A. A major difference is that Mrs Sam guarantees the results. She has been running these classes for over 25 years and has refined the method to the level where her 4 year old pupils read up to 16 letter words independently! That degree of success is difficult to achieve, but she has attained it consistently. What's more? Over the years, many children have enrolled on Mrs Sam's Phonics programme after having completed similar programs in other institutions, including established ones. The saying 'the proof is in the pudding' is very apt here.

A.It is a very cost effective program when considering the excellent results that children will achieve:

-Within the first week they will be able to read and spell about 200 words.

-Subsequent lessons (within two hours): they will be able to read and spell about 100 words.

-No extra charges for any additional lessons, even if the child has to repeat the whole course.

-The course is intensive and will be completed in just three months. The foundation will be sufficiently strong to empower pupils to read independently and continue developing their English language skills.

The $2000 equates to $20 per hour (100 hours). That makes Mrs Sam's phonics class one of the cheaper privately taught phonics classes around.

The following testimonial from Mrs Annie Lee, who has sent all three of her children to Mrs Sam's classes, typifies the many parents' thought process and logics in deciding to enroll on Mrs Sam's programmes.

"When my oldest son was in Primary 1, I realised that his spelling was extremely poor and that after just a week he would be unable to remember what he had learnt in spelling class. Furthermore it seemed that he had little or no interest at all in reading. As I was afraid that all of this would affect his schoolwork and test marks, I decided to enroll my son for Mrs Sam's classes. She was highly recommended by a colleague who
was also sending her child there.

After my son finished the Phonics class, I noticed a dramatic change in his learning ability and test scores. His spelling and diction improved so much that he was scoring full marks and he could retain all that he
had learnt in his spelling class. Most importantly he became an avid reader as reading was a skill that came easily to him after the course.
That was eight years ago and my son has still retained the interest in reading and continues to do well in school; all because of the excellent base that was developed in Mrs Sam's Phonics class.

My husband had initially felt that the course was too expensive, but after seeing the effects on my first son, he insisted that my second son be sent to Mrs Sam as well. Currently my third son is enrolled in the
program too. After being sent to two nurseries, he still had not grasped the numbers one to ten, or the full set of alphabets. However after only a few months with Mrs Sam he is proficient with the numbers up to
one hundred, the alphabets and even corrects his father's pronunciation.

My third son is only in Kindergarten 2 but reads Primary 3 storybooks.
We have enrolled him in the Fun with Maths course as well and have been very impressed with his improved mathematical ability.

When I consider the benefits that all three of my children have received after going through the Phonics program, I feel that it is money very well spent as they are learning skills that will help them in
their lifelong education."

Q. Where does Mrs Sam run her classes?

A. Courses are run at Athena's newly-opened educational centre presently:
21A (2nd Floor) (Exit B, Kovan MRT Station)  [view map]
Simon Road,  Singapore 545907

More centres are planned to meet the growing demand for Mrs Sam's programmes.

Q. How do I enroll?

A. The duration of the both the Handwriting and Reading programmes would depend on the progress of the individual students. Pupils from the ages of 2.5 years to 3.5 years normally take up to six months to complete the Handwriting programme while pupils from the Reading Programme average a year before completion.

Students whom are older or have prior knowledge of writing normally progress faster provided they prove themselves.

Q. What happens after pupils complete the Phonics programme?

A. Students who complete the Phonics programme are invited to continue with Mrs Sam's range of normal tuition classes as well as other enrichment programmes. The subjects taught are English, Mathematics and Science and they are based on the primary school syllabus. While Kindergarten children who progress to this stage are grouped together in one class, primary school students are placed in their respective primary levels.

The full list of programmes are presented below:

• Tuition Programme
This programme comprises preparatory courses in English, Mathematics and Science. Course content corresponds closely to the school syllabus. It guarantees students’ optimal academic performance.

• Fun with Maths Programme
This unique enrichment programme stretches beyond the school syllabus to provide an in depth conceptual understanding of Mathematics through a holistic approach. The students’ interest and curiosity are engaged through the use of puzzles, games and other hands on activities to stimulate a greater understanding of more complex mathematical functions.

• Exploring Science Course
Students are taught basic scientific principles in this course. The principles are explained meticulously with the aid of experiments that illustrate the application of the principles and their relevance to day to day living. Students are also taught how to gather information efficiently from various print and electronic sources to make their own concise notes on the subject.

• Creative Writing Programme
This course is carefully designed to develop the child’s ability to communicate thoughts and ideas effectively and through the art of writing. Special emphasis is placed on ensuring an understanding of the form and content of creative expression through practical skills that are skills acquired by writing picture, narrative and descriptive compositions and short stories.

• Challenge Problems
This course is exclusively created for Primary Five and Six pupils in preparation of the Primary School Leaving Examination. It focuses on tackling ‘problem sums’ that are designed to test students’ advanced understanding of mathematical principles. This section of examination distinguishes the more able students and characteristically poses a challenge to most students. The course concentrates on honing the ability to translate the worded questions into diagrammatic models that aid the clearer understanding of the questions.